Interesting Problem With Pelikan Nibs

[danielpi]

Just received my brand new Pelikan M805 Stresemann Anthracite. Sadly, the nib did not arrive in ready-to-write condition (I seem to have terrible luck, but have learned a lot about adjusting nibs as a result of it).

 

Encountered a new problem, which may be of interest to some, and about which others may be able to offer some advice. As you can see in the attached photo, there is a gap between the breather hole and the feed. In fact, the gap is so large that at the right angle, you can actually see the breather hole from the bottom when you look at the gap where the shoulders meet the feed.

 

Interestingly, the writing does not seem to be terribly affected. There were some pretty bad hard starts initially, but I diagnosed that as baby's bottom, and it has largely been resolved now. Other than that, the flow is very wet on the medium nib. I did try to bend the gap away, but lacking a knock-out block to actually take the nib out of the collar, I could only do so much with the collar and feed attached. I reduced the size of the gap maybe 1/3 (the photo was taken after I had attempted to bend it out).

 

Anyhow, it's an interesting problem. I seem to recall reading an article by Richard Binder at some point, discussing something similar to this in the early 2000s Pelikans, although I thought he said the problem was due to their nib work being done by a third party, and that this had been rectified as of the 2010s.

 

If anyone else has noticed this (and/or has any warnings/advice about it) then please do contribute to the topic.

[masterguns]

Interesting. I just checked my M400 and M1000, and I can see the breather holes in both from that angle, though not quite as pronounced as in your picture. Neither pen has any issue writing. I tried to get a look at my M800, but did not see the breather hole in that one. The pen is inked, so I don't know if that makes any difference. I wouldn't think so, but I'm not sure.

[danielpi]

Mine was also inked when I took this picture.

 

Well, I'm just gonna live with it, I guess, since it's writing well now. But I am worried that there may be long-term issues that I ought to be concerned about (e.g., the ink drying out in the feed and clogging up the channels; variable ink flow affected by pen angle, etc.)

 

You know, as much as I love my German and Italian pens, I think from here on out, I'm going to go with Japanese pens. I'm just tired of the quality control issues plaguing European pens.

 

By the way, anyone ever wonder why the three premiere fountain pen manufacturing nations also happen to have been the three Axis nations during WW2? Meh... off topic, I guess.

[fly_us]

My 805 shows the same thing, no affect on writing though. The pen is pretty wet, about 6-7 on scale and i love it that way

 

 

By the way, anyone ever wonder why the three premiere fountain pen manufacturing nations also happen to have been the three Axis nations during WW2? Meh... off topic, I guess.

 

Don't forgot the mighty Parker 51 from that time :D

[mmg122]

Whenever I purchase a pen I intend to use (always), I ask the retailer to check the nib and tune it as well as correct any problems (such as the one you've seen) prior to shipping. This has worked well for me. I feel it's the responsibility of certified retailers to make sure the pens are shipped in optimum condition. So far I haven't had a retailer balk at doing this...part of the service, IMO.